Thermaltake Gravity i2 95W Intel LGA 1156/1155/1150/1151 92mm CPU Cooler

I used the Thermaltake Gravity i3 to replace the stock cooler in my Dell Optiplex, which has an Intel i5 12500 chip. Two things I noticed right away -- compared to the Dell cooler, the Thermaltake is larger, both wider and taller, and has a larger fan. It screwed in to the existing holes and is a direct replacement, so it was super easy to install. Mostly I wanted something quieter which wouldn't present any challenges inside the small Optiplex case, so I tried this out and was pleasantly surprised that not only is it noticeably quieter to my ears while under heavy CPU load, it lowered peak CPU temps from 93 to 83 degrees C while running a Cinebench test. Overall, good enough for the cost.

Used it to keep my vintage PC running, does its job and keeps the CPU cool.

If you need a great, basic cooler for your Intel chip that’s slightly better than the default cooler, look no further! Make sure you check to ensure your motherboard/processor are < 95W (so most of the relevant intel chips) and are one of the compatible sockets (again, most recent sockets) - once you do that, this CPU cooler is easy to install (install the backplate then screw in the 4 screws and plug in the fan header. Done.Couple of quick notes - first, this does use a backplate (unlike the push-pin based default included cooler) which means you’ll need to access the back of your motherboard. Not an issue if you’re installing a new motherboard in a new case, but if you’re replacing an existing cooler in a complete build, you may have to remove the motherboard if you don’t have access to the back of the board in the case. I actually like this as the install is much more secure that the push pins - and you know you have the right tension - but it is something to be aware of.Second, this does have pre-applied thermal paste which makes it easy to use. The thermal paste seems to be of reasonable quality and is well applied - I used it as is for the initial install, but ended up moving the chip to new board and having to use my own. Expected and no issues - but if you’re looking for a bit more performance, you might want to think about changing the paste. If you’re running stock clocks and not running at max all the time, the included paste should be just fine.Third and final consideration - this is not a cooler for overclockers. It can probably handle a minimal overclock - but it’s really designed to be cool and reasonably quiet at stock settings, voltages and the like and it does well at that.With those considerations out of the way, if you have a compatible chip and don’t mind the above caveats, this is a great cooler and highly recommend!

I bought this for the cheapest stream PC out of old parts my siblings and I had laying around. Well it so happens to be the only thing we didn't have was a cooler with the appropriate bracketry for the LGA 1155 socket. So I resorted for for this unit! For under $15 it keeps an overclocked I7 3770K at 4.4ghz 1.2 volts under 95C in 29C/90F ambient temps on a 30 minute Cinebench R23 run.It does exactly everything we need but now the CPU is now too slow for the load we're throwing at it LOL!Not the coolers fault at all in that case and of course is the reason I threw a mild overclock at it.Now what I don't like is how it has a 3 pin fan connector. The ASRock P67 Extreme does not have a way to control DC powered fans. So the fans are on full blast in the case. Spins around 2200 RPM and isn't great to be next to. Thankfully in my case I am using Windows remote desktop and running headless so the PC can be on the common area. Keeps my room nice and quiet!The mounting bracket is kind of a pain in the arse but now that I think about it, if you have a case that has an opening on the back of the motherboard tray, you can try setting up a pillow or small box behind the pc and laying it down. I did it with the PC standing upwards which wasn't enjoyable.Nonetheless for the money, I am happy and the PC stays cool during 6 plus hour streams.PC Specs:ASRock P67 ExtremeIntel i7 3770k 4.4Ghz @ 1.2v16gb DDR3 @ 1600MhzGTX 1060 6gbFractal Meshify C mid-tower case